FS Ferrovie dello Stato (Italy)

...claim the service was cheap, so have come to the conclusion that perhaps the FS is only more expensive for Interrailers and Eurrailers. Maybe the actual base price of train journeys is less than that in France. It is definitely far less than here in England, that's for sure!   ... more

My travels in the summer of 1999 took me through miles of railway in France and Italy. I must say right away that the French train service is far superior to that in Italy. In France, we were able to travel on the speedy TGV trains for a minimal supplement. I can definitely accept having to pay a little extra for such quality. Unfortunately, in Italy we were forced to pay even larger supplements for virtually every major train journey, even though none of the trains approached the standard of French TGVs. The whole idea of having an Interrail pass is paid-for train travel, yet this simply isn't possible in Italy, unless you have the time to take regional trains which stop at every small village.

In spite of this, Italian trains are not nearly as grubby and late as one would expect. I do not actually remember ever being significantly late on a train journey in Italy. Miraculous, considering the great number of times the trains stopped in the middle of nowhere, miles from any station or settlement. Harry, a guy I met in Florence, rather cynically claimed that "You can tell in these cases that the driver has blatantly stopped for a quick siesta."

Italian night trains are also of acceptable standard. The Couchette carriages are equal to those in France, with as many as six bunks per compartment. However, I am quite puzzled as to whether or not one needs to reserve a seat on night trains in Italy. We did not need to when venturing from Marseille to Rome, yet when we stepped on in Salerno, ready for Venice, we were nearly thrown off the train. After some discussion, the conductor grudgingly shoved us into a compartment with three free beds. We naturally had to pay for standard tickets, but in addition the conductor demanded our passports - for insurance purposes, I presume, but still rather worrying. Oh well, enough said: we arrived in Venice safe, refreshed, and on time.

Unfortunately, the train stations themselves do not match the trains that serve them for comfort and general organization. There are signs on the platforms to indicate where given trains are bound, but we found that especially in less prominent stations, these often failed to illuminate. Once, acutely aware of this deficiency, we almost stepped on a night train to Milan, when we wanted to reach Venice. All we had to guide us was the arrival time and platform of the Venice train, and when these appeared to point to one that had just pulled in, we nearly committed a disastrous error.

Waiting in a train station can also be quite harrowing. One of my travelling companions, dissatisfied with the quality of the waiting room seats in Salerno, slept on the floor. Big mistake! He accidentally kicked an empty wine bottle over, eliciting the appearance of two hostile locals. Taking him for a gypsy, they were exceedingly aggressive, and were about to start on him when they luckily overheard his true nationality. "Olanda?" Suddenly wildly apologetic, to an almost absurd extent, they hastily quit the scene.

Taking all things into consideration, I was slightly surprised at the Ferrovie dello Stato's quality. The Italian rail service seems great compared to the shambles seen here in Britain, though still not as good as most Western European networks.

Regarding the price, I have heard other people claim the service was cheap, so have come to the conclusion that perhaps the FS is only more expensive for Interrailers and Eurrailers. Maybe the actual base price of train journeys is less than that in France. It is definitely far less than here in England, that's for sure!  

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